Hashtag Murlance
by Nina of the Galaxy
Summary: Matt and Laurel are adorable and Foggy uses the word Murlance a lot.
1. Hashtag Murlance

"This year, the NYPD Charity Ball's hottest couple did not feature a model, actor, or singer, but instead one of Hell's Kitchen's own most eligible bachelors who now appears to be off the market." She paused there for dramatic effect. Like she was saying something important, which she could have, there was a lot that went on at the charity ball. But she was just talking about someone's romance.

"Matt Murdock, partner at Nelson and Murdock, recently profiled in New York Magazine, arrived with Laurel Lance, who had been rumored to be dating, a daring ADA from Starling City and he couldn't keep his hands off her." He was sure she had no shame.

"Sorry, Ladies, it seems that Murlance is official. Sightings of the couple have been tweeted many times using hashtag murlance" Cantara Skeetz said. "We'll keep you updated with the very latest gossip on twitter at nyrwgossip and cskeetz. Till next time, stay entertained." She signed off. The horror was over.

Matt chuckled, "They're calling us Murlance now? You'd think we were celebrities." He said as he shook his head and headed toward the coffee machine. They were waiting for a client who had yet to show up.

"We?" Foggy asked. "So are you making it official?" He asked.

Karen came in and closed the door behind her. "Making what official?" She asked, hearing the tail end of the conversation.

"His apparently epic romance with Lance. Cantera is calling it Murlance." Foggy said, smiling like an idiot.

Karen opened her mouth, in complete awe. "That's too cute," She squealed "I totally knew something was up. You owe me money, Foggy. Fork it over." She giggled as she put her hand out.

Foggy shook his head. "I don't technically owe you money till Matt, here, gives it up. And Matt here hasn't. So, chill, okay?" He asked her. "But seriously is this official?"

Matt poured his coffee and went to his office. "This conversation is over." He said. "We have work to do,"

Foggy was too smart for that. "We already know everything there is to know till the client comes in. So come on, give, you and Lance? Official or not? The world is dying to know." He asked.

"The world has bigger problems than knowing if Murlance is official," He said as he went to his office.

The door opened and Matt thanked God for small diversions.

Only, it wasn't so good for him. As Foggy smiled, "Speak of the devil," He said and Matt knew who it was. Laurel. Fuck.

She shook her head. "Not the devil. That's our friend over there," She whispered with a chuckle as she pointed to Matt.

"So are you two dating?" Foggy asked. Always so very blunt about things, something that Laurel sort of admired about Foggy. He didn't seem to knew where the off button wasd.

Laurel looked over to Matt who shook his head. There was no getting out of this.

She nodded. "Yeah, Foggy, we're dating. But don't worry, we still love you too." She said as she went over and ran her fingers through Matt's hair.

Foggy went over to Karen, ecstatic. "Laurel confirmed it. Murlance is official. You totally owe me money," He said, triumphant in his victory in this game of cat and mouse.

Karen rolled her eyes. She should have bet on Laurel, but she thought that Laurel could keep it under wraps better than Matt. She pulled her wallet out of her purse and dug out a twenty and handed it over to Foggy.

Laurel shook her head as she witnessed the exchange, "They were betting on us? And they're calling us Murlance?" She asked him.

"Apparently." Matt said as ran his fingers down her sides, the fabric of her dress was nice and soft, not like one of her lawyer suits, which he also liked on her, but wasn't as nearly soft as this almost cotton but shiny fabric she was currently in.

She actually sort of liked the fact that his colleagues were betting on whether they were a couple. It was normal. Her life wasn't normal, but this was normal. She held his hand and smiled, but was completely silent.

He held her at the waist and brushed her hair away from her face. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else today? I thought you were going to see Barbara today, see if she needed any help with things."

"She's out to lunch with Dick, so she doesn't need me there," Laurel said as she sat on his lap. "Thought I'd come hang out with you guys." She said.

Foggy rolled his eyes. "Okay, you two need to get a room, that's preferably not in this office," He said, but he smiled. He loved seeing Matt happy. That was so rare. It seemed like all he did was brood, very catholic of him, but when Laurel was in the room, he just lit up like a sparkler, bright and full of life.

"Go away, Foggy," Laurel said.

He shook his head. "My office, babe."

The client didn't show, all day. It was a waste of keeping the lights on, but Karen had set up a couple of appointments a day for the rest of the week, apparently a lot of women were interested in being represented by the firm with one of Hell's Kitchen's most eligible bachelors.

"I don't get it," He said as they walked home.

Laurel laughed. He loved hearing her laugh, couldn't get enough of it. "You shouldn't have done that photoshoot in New York Magazine. Everyone reads that. But no, you were convinced by Foggy and Karen who saw it as a great opportunity for the firm." She said with a great smile.

"It was a great opportunity for the firm," He chuckled.

She nodded and pushed back her hair. "Then you have to stop worrying about all of the female clientele." She said, with a cheery disposition.

"You're saying none of that even remotely bothers you? Not even the model that Karen booked who has something against her boyfriend?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter to me. They could never relate to you like I do." She said as she put her forehead on his.

He kissed her cheek and pushed her forward, "Come on you, we have some crimefighting to do. And then some not crimefighting to do," He whispered in her ear.

"Murlance, the vigilante lawyers." She whispered in a super serious voice which cracked them both up.

He kissed her again and walked toward the direction of his apartment, "I could get used to Vigilante Lawyers," He said.

"Too bad the world doesn't know our secret."


	2. Greetings from Starling

"I have a question," Laurel asked, the first thing she said when he picked up the phone.

He chuckled. The fact she needed to preface it this way before saying hello, meant it was something she was nervous about. She was never nervous. Never in front of him. Matt chuckled, "What's going on?" He asked.

She took a breathe and paused for a second. "Are you possibly doing anything important this weekend?" She asked him.

Matt knit his eyebrows together. That was an odd question. It raised more questions than it did give him answers about what she wanted, but he thought about it for a second. "No, not really."

Laurel looked out the window at the huge group of people in the park about to release balloons for some silly charity thing. Reminded her of her own predicament. "I understand if you can't come and that's completely fine," She started, "Well, there's this thing that Oliver is hosting that I have to be at, because it would look weird if I wasn't there, but I was wondering if you would come with me, because there's gonna be a lot of couples. A lot of couples who are gonna ask me questions if I come alone and I was just wondering..."

"If I could come with you," He said, with a smile on his face. "Laurel, I would be delighted to go to this thing with you," He told her. It would be weird to go there and officially be a couple in her city, but they did it in his and it wasn't so bad, even if Foggy teased him mercilessly about it.

Her entire demeanor changed, "Really?" She squealed.

"Of course," He said. "I'll be there Friday night," He promised.

She nodded. "See you Friday night."

Foggy took him to the airport and hugged him, told him to have a good flight. He sat in the terminal for awhile, until the plane was ready to board.

The flight was bumpy and the man who sat next to Matt had a billion invasive questions about how different it was being blind, proving that he would truly have to deal with that wherever he went. He sat there silently listening to a couple argue about who was the hottest billionaire in Starling, Oliver Queen or Ray Palmer.

When the plane landed, he took his bag out of the overhead compartment and exited as quickly as he could and headed towards the gate, where he smelled the unmistakable scent of her perfume. He walked faster to her and when he was right in front of her, he put his arms around her waist and his nose in the crook of her neck, "I missed you," Matt told her.

Laurel nodded. "I missed you, too." She promised him. "More than you know."

She broke away from him, took his bag in one hand, and one of his hands in the other and lead them to her car. "So you never told me anything about this event other than about the nosy couples." He told her with a smile. "I didn't know what kinds of clothes I would need to wear, so I brought a suit and some regular clothes, but if it's not sufficient," He said and wandered off.

She shook her head. He only knew because her earrings clinked and made a cute sound. She kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sure what you brought was perfect," She told him as she clicked her seatbelt on and turned the key in the ignition.

Starling had the same amount of sirens as Hell's kitchen normally did, which was sort of comforting. She dealt with the same type of crime. Laurel smiled when she drove or maybe that was because he was in the car? He didn't know, either explanation seemed plausible. Karen said something about Laurel lighting up whenever Matt came in the room. He brushed it off as nothing, but maybe it was something.

Her apartment was in a sketchier part of the city. She should really move, he thought, but he was sure that someone had already said that and she was still here, so she liked it.

Laurel pulled out his bag and took him by the arm and lead her into the building, then the elevator, and they ascended to her apartment.

When they got to her apartment, she tightened her grip on his arm. "Dad! Oliver! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Looking for you," Quentin said. "Who's this?" He asked, as he looked Matt up and down.

Laurel sighed. She was going to have to go through this right now? "Dad, this is Matt Murdock. I met him while I was in New York City visiting Barbara, remember?" She asked.

"What's he doing here? At your apartment?" Oliver asked, eyeing them both suspiciously.

Laurel rolled her eyes, she was pretty her entire skulled rolled back. "What are you doing here?" She asked him.

"We have rehearsal," He said as he grabbed her arm.

Matt forced Oliver's hand off of Laurel. "Don't ever put your hand on her like that again, unless you want to lose it," He growled. Oliver reluctantly brought his hand back and stared steely at Matt.

Quentin chuckled and shook his head. "Well, he hates Queen as much as I do, which is good in my book, but Laurel honey, there's a big case, you're supposed to be overseeing, Ardos? He just came in. I came by to give you the statement he filed, but you weren't there." He said.

"And someone in my office should have told you that I was out. I'm sure my secretary isn't that incompetent. But you weren't there just about the case were you?" She asked. "You know what I don't care. You both need to leave." She said as she pushed through them and put her key in the door. As soon as it was open, she rolled Matt's suitcase into her apartment and then took him by the hand and lead him in.

"Dad, we can talk tomorrow morning. Oliver, we're gonna see you tomorrow night, okay?" She asked them and then shut the door.

Matt chuckled as she pushed the door closed and deflated. "At least they don't call us Murlance," He said with an easy laugh.

Laurel eyed him and shook her head. "I would rather be called Murlance all day, everyday, then have to deal with my dad and my ex-boyfriend posturing in front of you," She told him as she felt the pressure release from her body.

"Oh, so Oliver is your ex-boyfriend? I should have been much more aggressive," He joked with her.

It took a minute, but Laurel got comfortable in her own skin. She got comfortable with him being there. "Are you hungry?" She asked him. "Cause I can call for dinner. I'm not much into cooking. Never was."

"No, I'm fine." Matt told her as he kissed her temple. "Are you okay?" He asked. "That thing outside, that was kind of intense," He chuckled. Intense was a kind word for it. Oliver and her father seemed overbearing. The fact that she had to shut them down with a door in their face was an indication of a bigger problem.

Laurel put her head on his chest, "I'm better now that you're here." She said, quietly. She looked up at him and pulled off his glasses. "Seriously, that ambush is normal." Laurel shrugged.

"Normal? That seemed ridiculous." He chuckled.

She didn't know what to say to Matt. They were, they were her people. As terrible as they could be, they were a part of the past that she had left. A part of the person who knew Sara, who loved with her whole heart. "It was, but it's also complicated."


	3. Very Catholic of You

"We're gonna have to see Oliver tonight, you know that right?" She asked as she brushed some blush over her cheeks.

He sighed and nodded. "I know. It's his party. You did say that over the phone." He told her as he stood in the doorway of her bathroom.

"Well, I just want to make sure that there are no more pissing matches." She said as she straightened up and put her brushes away and looked at Matt, beautiful Matt in his black tux. "You look so good," Laurel said as she smiled and put her arms around his neck.

He blushed. "No more pissing matches," He promised. "Oliver just needed to know that he couldn't touch you like that. And I wasn't going to actually going to do anything, the threat seemed to be enough. But I heard your heartbeat get faster and not the good kind of faster." He whispered into her temple as he brushed a kiss.

She nodded into his shoulder. "Well, thank you, but I promise you I can take care of myself when it comes to Oliver, okay?" She asked, quietly.

"If that's what's going to make you happy, then I can abide by it," Matt said, trying to cheer her up.

Laurel stayed there in his arms for a few moments and Matt savored the moment. In this moment, they weren't black canary and the daredevil. They were Matt Murdock and Laurel Lance, long distance couple, getting ready to deal with the wolves of Starling, the wealthy elite.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," She said into his jacket.

He nodded. "You know sadly I can't see how amazing you look, but I'm sure if I could, you would take my breath away." He told her as they touched foreheads and he could feel her eyes looking at his.

She pressed a kiss into his jacket. She unhooked her arms from his neck and picked up his glasses from the endtable. She unfolded the arms, one and then the other and put them on his face. She grabbed his cane and gave it to him, which he pocketed.

She grabbed her clutch and then held her arm out and he wrapped his around it. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah," She said, happy, as she lead them out of her apartment and to the party.

When they got to the party, Felicity flagged Laurel down. "How cute are you two?" Felicity asked.

"She does all the hard work," Matt insisted.

Laurel blushed and Matt squeezed her hand. Laurel chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we are," She said. "God, this is fancy. I mean I know that's Oliver's thing, but I always forget how fancy, you know? And just because," She asked.

"Well, actually, don't freak out or anything, but Oliver's gonna give you a big grant and you're getting an award for your continued effort towards justice," Felicity said in a hushed voice, looking around them at the crowd. "Oliver is going to get to present you with this very honorable award since he just made a large donation to the city's justice system." She said and smiled.

Laurel almost laughed. "This system hates him, why would he put money towards it?" She asked with a polite smile.

Felicity nodded. "He described it as a 'public act of good faith,' something that would restore his image as an upstanding citizen in the community," She said. "I mean personally, I think it's kind of a stupid PR move, but he didn't want to listen to me."

Laurel bobbed her head and squeezed Matt's hand. Something was very wrong about this. Something was not good. "Where's Thea?" Laurel asked. "I should tell her the good news before anyone else knows." She said, kindly.

"You don't know?" Felicity asked, worried.

Laurel shook her head. "What happened?" She asked.

Felicity didn't know how to break it to her kindly, so she just did. "Laurel, Thea is dead. Ra's killed her. Oliver is leaving tonight, right after this is over." She said. "I thought you knew,"

Matt could hear the sob in Felicity's voice. Laurel practically crushed his hand, gripping so tight her knuckles turned white from the lack of blood rushing through. "Excuse us," Laurel said and pushed past Felicity.

Sooner than Matt knew, they were in a backstage area, he felt the wind blow between curtains and ropes, smelled the musk of past action. When Laurel let go of his hand, she raged. "How could you?" She yelled. "How could you not tell me?"

"We're not going to do this right now." Oliver said, gritting through his teeth. "Not in front of him." He said and nodded his head to Matt.

Matt held his hands up in surrender. "I'm only here because she brought me here. I'll leave, but only if she wants me too." He said.

She shook her head. "This supposed rehearsal we were supposed to go to last night? Were you going to tell me? Were you going to tell me that Thea was dead? Thea's dead because you had to protect a mass murderer. Tommy's murderer. Sara's murderer. And for what? To protect her? Now, she's dead. And he's still alive. Were you going to tell me?" Her voice broke.

It sounded like Foggy's when he found out that Matt was the daredevil. The betrayal so deep in Laurel's voice, it was hard not to sympathize. Laurel's love was so deep and it ran so far, that it wasn't hard to understand why it hurt so much.

"No, because I'm going to Nanda Parbat. And I'm going to bring her back." Oliver said, sternly.

Laurel shook her head. "Thea would not want you giving up your soul to have a slim chance at saving hers. No matter how much more she deserves to be here than you do right now, I'm not letting you go too." She said as she looked up at him.

"It's not your choice," Oliver growled.

Laurel looked him right in the eye. She growled right back at him, "What would Thea want?"

"Me. To sacrifice myself. For you. She'd never forgive me if something happened to you. And god help me, even with your new boyfriend, we all know that you would be next," He said to her. "So in order to do that, I'm going to be the Ra's. And I'm bringing her back." He said to her, stonyfaced. He, then, softened, "Go clean up. I have an award to present to you,"

She left.

Oliver looked over to Matt. "I suppose you hate me. Hearing her like that. I'd hate me if I were you," He said as he looked over to the bathroom.

"It's not me you have to worry about," Matt told Oliver. "I don't hate you, Oliver. You made a decision. Something she may never forgive you for and you have to be okay with that. Thea was part of her family. Part of her forever. You made a decision and she may never look at you the same way again. She may never look at any of us the same way again."

Oliver shook his head. "She'll come around. She'll understand. But she's always needed a safe place to crash. Someone who can look at her and see the person she's always been." He said to Matt. "And I have a feeling that this time, this time it's gonna be you,"

Matt chuckled. "You give yourself way too much credit." The arrogance of Oliver Queen was unrivaled, maybe only matched Fisk. "She didn't need you. She chose you. And now she chose me. I don't know why you're so jealous of that, but for her sake, you just need to get over that. At least for tonight."

"What are you going to do about it? Break my arm?" Oliver goaded.

Matt shook it off. He told Laurel that there would be no more pissing matches. That he would be good. And here he was in the middle of one. "No, because Laurel wants to handle you herself, but don't think I couldn't. You'll stop because the thing that Thea wanted was Laurel safe and happy. And right now I make Laurel happy, so for the sake of the dead, you'll smile and play along."

"Don't you talk about my sister," Oliver gritted through his teeth.

Matt chuckled, "Or what? You're gonna break my arm?" He mimicked what Oliver had said and he could feel the waves of anger rolling off of Oliver, but he just stood there.

Matt knocked on the bathroom door. It swung open and she screwed that fake smile on. "You don't have to do this," He told Laurel as he held her face in his hands.

She shook her head. "This is my cross to bear," She told him as she touched his wrist. "I have to save my city. In all of the ways that I know how to," She told him.

He reached for the silent tear and wiped it away. He nodded. "That's very catholic of you," He joked.

"Ready?" Oliver asked.

Laurel nodded. "Yes," She said and hooked her arm around Matt's and guided them to the front of the stage.

Oliver was announced and he cleared his throat. "This year, like the last few years in Starling has been rocked by immense violence. Things that Starling should never have to go through

"It's only with the help of our justice system that we can put criminals away. There are people who have wanted to hurt my family who have been put away. And there is always someone fighting for the right thing. Even when fighting for the right thing is hard.

"This sacrifice towards justice is very rarely rewarded. And I wanted to change that. For the first time, I want to present the Excellence in Justice award, dedicated to all of those who deserved justice and went without, goes to assistant district attorney Laurel Lance. For her continued presence in the fight towards justice for all, for the right, even when it is not easy, she has always come through, a light in the darkness and a pillar of the community."

She stepped away from Matt and smiled. She was doing what she needed to by standing up there and not making a scene, but she hated every second of it and that fake smile was enough to know it.

"Thank you, Oliver. This is a kind honor. My entire life, all I wanted to do was help people. I started my very own law firm, CNRI, here in the glades, and then I came to the district attorney's office, where a lot of good has been done already.

"As many of you know, our city has a few guardian angels. The vigilantes of Starling City. They have worked tirelessly to help put criminals in prison where they belong and they have shaped the future of Starling. And while I accept this award as the ADA, fighting for justice, I know that there are many who will never see the light of a courtroom. Those who may only see justice through the lense of the Starling City Vigilantes.

"Criminals cannot be safe here. Good people should not have their lives cut short. And rest assured that with the help of law enforcement and the starling city vigilantes, providing good evidence, I will continue to serving justice the best ways that I know how to as many people as possible," She said and walked towards Matt.

The cameras flashed and they all took her picture as she took Matt's hand and the band was announced once again. Laurel took him out to the dancefloor. They had two dances, with cameras clicking near them pretty constantly.

He rolled his eyes, because he knew they were going to be on the news of some kind tomorrow, no doubt they would find that portmanteau and drag it here too, and he held her hand close to his chest. "We should get out of here," He said. "Go blow off some steam."

"Best idea I've heard all night," She said as practically jumped at the chance to escape the crowd.


	4. Catch and Release

When they got to the car, he pulled out the suits and showed them to her and she smiled. He nodded. "I thought you might need it," He whispered to her.

She took hers and lead him to the passenger side of the car. "Find us a quiet place to change. And then, let's find someone who needs some help," Laurel croaked.

She sounded exhausted but he didn't push. He gave her directions, following the sound of silence and they got out and changed. It was an abandoned building, but he could still feel her heart race from the thrill of it. The semi public space made her squirm.

Matt shook his head and just threw his suit on, trying not to focus too much on the sounds, smells, and other sensations coming from Laurel. He paused and put his hand on her shoulder and kissed the side of her face tenderly. "Ready?" He asked.

"Been asked that question too many times already tonight," She told him and picked up her nightstick. There was so much to be done in this city and she was going to do something about it. "I just need to do something. I need to help. I need to be who she remembered. Who she wanted me to be," Laurel choked out.

Matt said no more to her. He knew that feeling of hating everything, of just wanting some semblance of normal. He took a moment to focus and he heard something. Four Streets Left and Two Streets Down. Somewhere in the middle," He said. "It's a domestic abuse," He said, quietly.

"It's perfect," She said.

Fifth and Elm, the man was right there in the middle of the street beating on this poor woman, who was crawling in heels, desperate to get away.

"Hey!" She shouted. "Come pick on someone your own size,"

When the man caught her eye, he just fucking grinned like a lunatic. He lunged at her and she hit him with her club and the man didn't even know who he was dealing with. He was dealing with anger and frustration and all of the emotions bottled deep inside of her.

Laurel wailed on him. She just punched him over and over again. The release of frustration was more than just frustration though. And it was getting to a place where he was very worried about her. He worried that she would cross some lines that she didn't want to

Matt pushed her off when she was getting too handsy. "He's good, pretty bird," He smoothed a hand over her wig. "We can take him to the station and drop him off."

She just dropped her stick, "I can't," She said and then she ran, deep into the night.

"Fuck," Matt said, grit through his teeth and hit the guy in the head, a couple of time, so that he would pass out again. He ran after her, trying not to let her get too far away, because it was harder to make her specific footsteps out of the city when she was farther away.

Laurel ran almost a mile when she just fell to the ground. "It's gonna be okay," He told her when he caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I know that it doesn't seem like it but it's going to be okay,"

She violently shook her head and wracked sobs into his arms. After everything, after all of the loss. Oliver. Sara. Robert. Her Mother. Tommy. Moira. Sara. Now, to add Thea to that list. And Oliver. "I've lost everyone. Everyone leaves. What is so wrong with me that everyone leaves?" She asked as she held tightly onto his arm.

"I'm not leaving you. I'm right here." He said over and over again, so many times it became not words, but just sounds to him, something that seemed to quiet her thoughts, at least for a little while.

Her pain was so emphatic, like nothing would be okay ever again, she shook, sobbed, teared up, and that wasn't to mention the odd nature of her heartbeat with all the anger and sadness. Her pain bubbled over like a pot of noodles that someone left on too high. All he could do was soothe her, rake his fingers through her hair and murmur comforting words.

When she came down from the majority of it, he picked her up in his arms, bridal style and started to carry her back to where they were before.

It wasn't long till she insisted on being on her feet.

"It's not weakness," Matt said, finally, "To be angry." He tells this to himself too, because he knew what it was like to be angry about something you couldn't control. He told Karen about it. How he missed seeing. He did. He was angry that the accident took away his ability to appreciate movies. Views that should be to die for. Body language. Beautiful women. "But harnessing it is the best we can do. And some days, we all have bad days. You just had a bad day." He promised as they dropped the criminal off at the nearest precinct and then headed to the roofline, because while the cops were more okay here than in Hell's Kitchen about vigilantes, they still weren't that cool.

She put her hand in his and nodded, silently. Well, she didn't say any words at least. Her hair and wig rustled to indicate what she had done. He wrapped her in his arms and smiled. "You're gonna be okay," He whispered to her.

She nodded into his chest. She believed it coming from him. "I love you," She said. And impossibly, she smiled.

"I love you, too," He affirmed and grinned like an idiot.

They got to the car and she got in the driver's seat. She started off, back to her apartment, but she did something that they had never done, turned the radio on. She turned it on low, but listening to the music with her in the companionable silence felt new.

He didn't ask dates to do this. This was intimate. Especially when Time after Time came on. He blushed a little, because the notes of the song seemed so romantic. Not even the words. The actual music behind it.

She looked over to him, took his blush as a sign that it wasn't good. "We can turn it off if you want," She said to him.

He shook his head. "No, I like it," He promised her. "It's just new," He chuckled.

"Girls don't listen to music with the blind man?" She asked him, with a little bit of humor in her voice.

He shrugged. "I mean Foggy and I listen to music sometimes, more when we were in college, but all the girls I date, they seem to think that I'm more serious. I'm an upstanding lawyer, you know?" He asked, humor evident in his voice too.

She stopped in front of her building and nodded, "Yeah, Matthew Michael Murdock, I know. You're the best damn avocado at law," She smiled and put her hand on his face and just touched him for absolutely no reason at all. An affection, he guess that was reflected in her eyes too, not that he could see them.

"Foggy told you that story?" He asked her, eyebrows raised, a little bit impressed. Foggy hadn't even told Karen that story and he was over the moon for Karen.

She shrugged. "I exchanged the story of when Oliver came over with ice cream and I thought it was a sex toy. It was a big thing," Laurel laughed, it tinkled lightly, so different than everything tonight was.

"Are you okay?" He asked, serious for a second, because if they just hid from everything that happened tonight, that was just as harmful as not dealing with it.

She shrugged. "I'm still pissed as hell. But do I want to kill Oliver for making me accept that award, right after he told me that basically the only family I have left is dead or gone? No." She said. He could hear the lie in heartbeat and nodded. "Well, maybe just a little bit. But I would get him to hospital after," She told him. Much better, no lie in that.

He pushed the door out and they climbed up the steps this time, instead of using the elevator.

When she got to finally seeing her reflection, she shook her head. "I look like an absolute mess," She told him as she peeled her boots, pants, and blood splattered jacket off.

Matt shrugged. "I can't see it, but I would suggest dabbing your jacket down, because that blood is starting to dry," He informed her. "And then maybe we could shower, wash the mess we made off?" He suggested.

"We could do that," She giggled, suggestively. That was also a definite possibility. She bounced back pretty quickly, not that it would all be okay for awhile, if ever, but she was stronger than anyone gave her credit for, and if that wasn't just the sexiest thing, he didn't know what was.


End file.
